After narrowly missing out on a medal in Tokyo back in 2021 finishing 4th, Lotte Kopecky went one better on Sunday afternoon in Paris, claiming a bronze medal. Could it have been even better though?
According to ex-pro turned pundit, Marijn de Vries, had it not been that Kopecky was caught up behind the crash of Chloe Dygert on the penultimate ascent of the brutal Montmartre climb, the Belgian who have had more than enough left in the tank to secure gold.
"That's part of cycling, but it's a shame that the crash determined the final," says De Vries in her analysis for Sporza. "Kopecky showed how strong she was after that crash, because she was the only one who could still cross over to the head of the race. She did waste a cartridge there, because after that she wasted her best. You could also see that during the chase with Faulkner on Blanka Vas and Marianne Vos. On the last climb of Montmartre she was not sitting comfortably on the wheel of the American."
"That chase lasted a long time, because Faulkner was also at her limit. It was a tough race. In the end, they were all dying swans and Kristen Faulkner died the least slowly," De Vries continues. "An attack was the only thing Faulkner could do, because she rode to the finish line as a non-sprinter with 3 fast women. But you still have to be able to do it of course. Her timing was perfect. Vos and Kopecky looked at each other and if Faulkner gets 2 meters, she's gone."
Despite bronze not being the colour medal many expected for Kopecky in her third Olympic road race, De Vries insists that the 28-year-old will still be more than competitive by the next the Los Angeles Olympic Games roll around in 2028. "She must have hoped for more, but she can be proud of her race. I certainly hope that she can get her revenge in four years," De Vries concludes.
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